Life term with parole imposed for role in murder

A man was sentenced yesterday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years for his role in a fatal drive-by shooting on an East Side street nearly three years ago.

A man was sentenced yesterday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years for his role in a fatal drive-by shooting on an East Side street nearly three years ago.

A Franklin County jury convicted Tyrece L. Ayers, 21, of murder in the death of Tyrone L. Malcolm but acquitted him on the more-serious charge of aggravated murder.

To win a conviction for aggravated murder, prosecutors had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime was committed “purposely and with prior calculation and design.”

Although Ayers was accused of supplying the gun used in the shooting and later disposing of the gun, the jury found that he did not possess a gun and acquitted him on a charge of tampering with evidence.

Defense attorney Martin Midian said he was puzzled by the murder conviction. “It is my understanding that the basis of the charge revolved around my client’s use of a firearm, and the jury unequivocally determined that he did not have a firearm,” he said.

Common Pleas Judge Pat Sheeran imposed the mandatory sentence of life with no chance of parole for 15 years for the murder conviction, plus a mandatory five years because the jury found that the death involved discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.

Ayers, formerly of Yorkshire Terrace on the East Side, testified on Wednesday that he was a passenger in the car but had no role in the shooting.

The driver, Quintin T. Woods, testified that Ayers, seated in the back seat, handed a .357-caliber handgun to the shooter, front-seat passenger Alex Ferguson.

Malcolm, 18, died after a single shot fired by Ferguson struck him in the upper chest as he walked on E. Livingston Avenue just east of Yearling Road about 10 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2010.

Jurors also heard from the defendant’s cousin, Darell Ayers, who testified that Tyrece Ayers told him he had given the gun to Ferguson in the car. Tyrece Ayers also told his cousin that he traded the murder weapon for another gun because the shooting made it too “hot” to keep, according to Darell Ayers’ testimony.

Ferguson did not testify.

Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Geraghty said in her closing argument on Friday that Tyrece Ayers had actively participated before and after the crime, saying he had pointed out the victim and told Woods to turn the car around so that Ferguson could take a shot.

“He is just as guilty,” Geraghty said.

Midian argued to jurors that Woods is a liar whose testimony couldn’t be trusted because of a deal he struck with prosecutors. Midian called Darell Ayers an addled drug fiend who views reality “ through a cloud of marijuana smoke and pill dust.”

Ferguson, 20, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and was sentenced in August to life in prison with no chance of parole for 23 years.

Woods, 21, pleaded guilty in August 2011 to involuntary manslaughter and was given eight years in prison.